Friday, 31 July 2015

After investigations on the reported fake rice failed to yield results, a barangay chair in Upper Saloy in Calinan District reported having bought fake noodles in a public market, the head of the environment sanitation division told a gathering of councilors here.

Robert Oconer, environment sanitation division of the City Health Office, said Upper Saloy barangay chair Gary Gensianos showed him samples of the supposedly fake bihon (noodles) on Friday, July 3, which could not be eaten after the family had cooked it.

Oconer said Gensianos claimed that although the noodles did not have a foul smell, it was slimy.

read moreA keen eye against the fake and syntheticFIRST there's the rice, which is sending law enforcers on a wild goose chase all over the region but finding nothing. Then there's this barangay captain who claims his staff bought pansit pihon that had fake noodles.Whether these are true or not, we should go beyond the inconvenience of having to check and double check our rice and rice sources, instead, let us rejoice in the greater awareness and vigilance we are experiencing.Yes, the news is vexing, but beyond that, we see people become more watchful about what they are putting in their mouths because of the fake rice report, which arose from the new that China has long been manufacturing fake rice.read moreFake 'Bihon Noodles' spotted in Davao City. Shocking!After the very controversial fake rice that entered Davao City which became a nationwide alert, another report shows that there are fake noodles that is being distributed in the city as well. Based on the report, a Barangay Chairman named Gary Gensianos have purchased a fake 'bihon' (thin noodles) in their public market last Friday. The physical appearances of the noodles are normal like the others, it doesn't even have a foul odor when in the process of cooking, but the noodles is very slimy compared to the normal noodles. Samples of the product are brought to the Food and Drugs Administration to be tested. It is done to see if the noodles are safe and authentic. It needs to be tested to see if there are harmful elements that could cause diseases. If it is harmful, then it should not be available to the public. read moreAfter ‘fake rice,’ Davao City monitoring ‘fake noodles‘After a row over so-called fake rice, health officials in Davao City are verifying reports of fake noodles.The Davao City Health Office received a sample of suspected fake rice noodles from an official in Barangay Calinan, GMA Davao reported Friday. City health officials have submitted the sample to the Department of Science and Technology for analysis.Also, the City Health Office formed a group to investigate the supposedly fake rice noodles. It has sought help as well from the Bureau of Customs in its investigation.read moreAfter fake rice, ‘fake’ noodles reported in DavaoAfter investigations on the reported fake rice failed to yield results, a barangay chair in Upper Saloy in Calinan District here reported having bought fake noodles in a public market, the head of the environment sanitation division told a gathering of councilors here.Robert Oconer, environment sanitation division of the City Health Office, said Upper Saloy barangay chair Gary Gensianos showed him samples of the supposedly fake bihon (noodles) on Friday, July 3, which could not be eaten after the family had cooked it.Oconer said Gensianos claimed that although the noodles did not have a foul smell, it was slimy.readmoreAfter 'fake' rice, 'synthetic' noodles discovered in DavaoWhile the controversy over the alleged synthetic rice continues, now come reports of "synthetic" noodles also in Davao City.The city health office has already formed a task force to probe the "fake" pancit which is supposedly available in the Calinan Public Market. According to Robert Oconer, chief of the environmental sanitation division of the city health office, the noodles are similar to the "fake" rice -- odorless and do not spoil.A sample of the noodles has already been sent to the food and administration authority for testsread more

Thursday, 30 July 2015

PAP organising secretary Ng Eng Hen said the party had decided to deploy its new faces in their constituencies as early as possible. ST PHOTO: AZIZ HUSSINPolitical parties lost no time in spelling out their plans for the coming general election just two days after new electoral boundaries were set.The People's Action Party (PAP) said almost all its candidates were already on the ground and would be formally named some time after National Day.The Workers' Party (WP) said it would contest 28 of the 89 seats, and several other opposition parties named the constituencies they were eager to contest, as politicians from all sides went out in force to make the most of a Sunday to reach out to potential voters.

The Opposition began to stake their claims over the weekend on the various constituencies they want to contest, with the Workers’ Party (WP) today (July 26) declaring their intention to contest 28 seats.

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) meanwhile indicated said it was “returning home” to the newly-carved out single-seat ward of Bukit Batok, and plans for contesting in areas they previously fielded candidates in, including Sembawang GRC and Holland-Bukit Timah GRC.

Other opposition parties were also out on walkabouts today, with Singaporeans First and the National Solidarity Party (NSP) making the around in Tampines, the latter having fielded a team in the area before.

National Solidarity Party president Sebastian Teo said the party intends to be more focused this coming election.

Singapore Democratic Alliance chairman Desmond Lim today said the party was keen on the six-man Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC for now, a constituency it previously contested in in 2011.

Other parties that have declared their interest in various constituencies include the Democratic Progressive Party, which has said they remain committed to standing in Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, as well as in Fengshan.

In an interview last month, Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen described founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's passing in March as "his last gift to us"This was in the form of a national unity that emerged through the celebration of his life and mourning of his death, a unity all the more notable for how rare it has become.It's surprising nowadays to find consensus on any one thing, and even where consensus exists, for it to be so viscerally and deeply felt.readmorePrime Minister’s AMK GRC Team in political turmoil

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s Ang Mo Kio (AMK) GRC is facing an exodus of three existing AMK MPs to make way for three new favourites of the PM. According to the government-controlled media The Straits Times today, two veteran MPs, namely Seng Han Thong and Yeo Guat Kwang, respective in-charge of Yio Chu Kang and AMK-Hougang, may retire although they declined to comment when interviewed. A third veteran MP, Inderjit Singh, tendered his resignation over social media Facebook two days before (July 24) instead of using the ruling party’s proper channel for public announcement. A fourth MP speculated to be removed is Intan Azura Mokhtar, who was flaked for supporting her grassroot leader PRC YangYin who is currently under police investigation for cheating a old lady multi-millionaire.With these four poised to be missing in the coming General Election, the government-controlled media The Straits Times then introduced two potential newbie candidates for AMK GRC and dedicated an introductory article for them and other amateur PAP new faces.The first is self-proclaimed “Son of Punggol” 43-year-old Dr Koh Poon Poh, the loser of Punggol East SMC in 2013. He lost largely because of his out-of-touch comments during his election campaigning, saying every Singaporean today owns a car and over-exaggerated how “poor” he was when he couldn’t even afford to buy a pair of chopsticks when he just bought his first three-room HDB flat at 26 years old. Dr Koh Poon Poh is poised to replace Seng Han Thong.readmoreAng Mo Kio Residents Get Dr Koh Poh Koon, a Kwek and that Pyramid Game Guy

Ang Mo Kio remains one of two 6-member GRCs, and helmed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien LoongBut the PM might have much work to do in the constituency of 187,652 voters.Already, one MP has retired from his post – Mr Inderjit Singh aka Maverick Singh.Two more look likely to follow suit – Mr Seng Han Thong and Mr Yeo Guat Kwang.

Ms Joan Pereira greeting a diner at Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre yesterday morning during a walkabout when she was introduced as a new face in Tanjong Pagar GRC. She is no stranger to the area, having worked at Queenstown Community Centre for over a decade.ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIMJust two days after the release of the electoral boundaries report, Tanjong Pagar GRC MPs introduced a potential colleague to residents.Former public servant Joan Pereira greeted residents and diners at Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre yesterday morning.She was accompanied by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Chan Chun Sing, Senior Minister of State Indranee Rajah, MPs Lily Neo and Chia Shi-Lu and about 30 People's Action Party activists.readmoreMPs whose constituencies are going to vanish

(From left) Senior Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Heng Chee How, Central Singapore District Mayor Denise Phua, Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, Moulmein-Kallang GRC MP Edwin Tong and Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew at the Kolam Ayer Waterfront for a community event yesterdayFive MPs who came together yesterday at the Kolam Ayer Waterfront share one thing in common.The constituencies they represent - Moulmein-Kallang GRC and Whampoa SMC - will no longer exist at the next general election, following changes recommended by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee in its report released a day earlier.Communications and Information Minister Yaacob Ibrahim, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew, Central Singapore District Mayor Denise Phua and Mr Edwin Tong, who all represent the GRC, attended the PassionArts Festival together with Senior Minister of State (Prime Minister's Office) Heng Chee How, who is the MP for Whampoa SMC.readmoreTin Pei Ling eager to stand in MacPherson

Ms Tin Pei Ling (white top) being hugged by MacPherson resident, Madam Fatimah Buang, 75, during her visit to a market yesterday.ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONGFirst-term Member of Parliament Tin Pei Ling is all set to go solo in the next elections in her MacPherson ward, which will no longer be part of Marine Parade GRC.The signs pointing to this were clear when she visited two markets in her ward yesterday with fellow Marine Parade GRC MP Tan Chuan-Jin, two days after the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee released its report.First, there was Mr Tan's call as he greeted residents at breakfast there to "please support Pei Ling, she really cares for you".readmoreGE after baby? Bring it on

She is heavily pregnant, and her first child is due early next month. But no matter when the General Election (GE) are called, Member of Parliament (MP) Tin Pei Ling said she is ready.The first-term MP, who was the youngest People's Action Party (PAP) candidate when she was introduced during the GE in 2011, had then attracted attention for a variety of reasons.Now it seems she might be in the spotlight again in the next GE - MacPherson, where she is the incumbent MP, has now been carved out of Marine Parade Group Representative Constituency (GRC) into a single-seat constituency (SMC).related:Wrong if opposition treats Tanjong Pagar as 'trophy GRC': Chan Chun SingWorkers' Party to contest in Marine Parade GRC, MacPherson SMCMPs whose constituencies are going to vanishread moreElection should be 'soon', says Tan Chuan-Jin at MacPherson walkabout with Tin Pei LingSocial and Family Development Minister Tan Chuan-Jin and his fellow Marine Parade GRC MP Tin Pei Ling on Sunday visited residents in MacPherson that is set to become a single-seat constituency in the next election.Ms Tin said the walkabout had been arranged before the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee report was released on Friday (July 24).Among the committee's recommendations was for Ms Tin's MacPherson ward to be carved out of Marine Parade GRC.readmoreWP to contest 5 SMCs and 5 GRCs in upcoming GE

“As a matter of principle, The Workers’ Party will contest where we have contested before. In this case, Joo Chiat is being redrawn into Marine Parade. We don’t want to disappoint voters in Joo Chiat. We want to offer them a choice again in this election,”

Speaking to reporters at a walkabout in Punggol East, Mr Low said WP had been working the ground in Marine Parade GRC as well as Joo Chiat SMC, which was absorbed into Marine Parade GRC by PM Lee’s Electoral Boundaries Review Committee.In the 2011 general election (GE), WP’s Yee Jenn Jong narrowly lost Joo Chiat to PAP’s Charles Chong by 388 votes. In fact, looking at the election results in Joo Chiat SMC over the last 3 GEs, one can see that PAP has been losing considerable votes in the constituency:related: WP to contest Marine Parade and MacPhersonreadmore
DPP to enter 3-cornered fights with other oppo parties

DPP Secretary-General Benjamin Pwee (Photo: ST)The Sunday Times reported today (‘Democratic Progressive Party stakes claim on Fengshan’, 26 Jul) that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has staked claim on Fengshan SMC.The Electoral Boundaries Review Committee has carved out Fengshan from East Coast GRC, reducing it from a 5- to a 4-member GRC. In the 2011 general election (GE), WP garnered a respectable 45.2% of the valid votes for the original 5-member GRC.In addition to Fengshan SMC, DPP Secretary-General Benjamin Pwee told reporters at a press conference yesterday (25 Jul) that they want Potong Pasir SMC, Hong Kah North SMC, Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, Tanjong Pagar GRCreadmore
WORKERS PARTY STAKE EARLY CLAIMS ON 5 GRC & 5 SMC FOR GE2015

The Workers' Party Chairman Sylvia Lim told the mainstream media on Sunday that WP will contest a total of 28 seats in the next General Election. It will comprise of 5 Group Representation Constituencies and 5 Single Member Constituencies. During GE2011, WP fielded 23 candidates. Apart from defending Aljunied GRC which they captured from the PAP in 2011, WP will also contest for Marine Parade, East Coast, Jalan Besar and Nee Soon GRCsThe Workers' Party Chairman Sylvia Lim told the mainstream media on Sunday that WP will contest a total of 28 seats in the next General Election. It will comprise of 5 Group Representation Constituencies and 5 Single Member Constituencies. During GE2011, WP fielded 23 candidates.Apart from defending Aljunied GRC which they captured from the PAP in 2011, WP will also contest for Marine Parade, East Coast, Jalan Besar and Nee Soon GRCs. WP will defend Hougang and Punggol East SMC while sending fresh challengers to Fengshan, MacPherson and Sengkang West SMC.related: WP TO CONTEST MARINE PARADE, MACPHERSON AND PLACES STOOD IN GE2011readmore
Reform Party Wants to Take the Fight to PM Lee in Ang Mo Kio GRC!

Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam says the party is keen on contesting in West Coast GRC, Radin Mas SMC, and even Ang Mo Kio GRC, which is Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s stronghold.Mr Jeyaretnam said in a statement:“I think it is important to challenge the Prime Minister on his home turf of Ang Mo Kio and I am glad to see he is still hiding behind a six-member GRC because it shows he is afraid.”

The Democratic Progressive Party, helmed by former SPP member Benjamin Pwee says it is intending to contest in Bishan Toa-Payoh GRC in the coming General Election.Pwee had contest with SPP chief Chiam See Tong in the 2011 General Election, in which the SPP won 43.1 percent of the vote. Said the DPP in a statement:

“We remain committed to standing at Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC. The inclusion of parts of Moulmein-Kallang to Bishan Toa Payoh GRC will expand an already-large GRC. Given how close the margin was at Bishan Toa Payoh GRC in 2011, it is anyone’s guess if the voters from Moulmein-Kallang transfered over to Bishan Toa Payoh are PAP supporters or not, and whether this will tilt the margin-of-votes for the coming GE. But we will work hard to get to know them and win their votes.”

(From left) Ms Kevryn Lim, 26, Mr Jan Chan, 25, and NSP president Sebastian Teo, 68, during a walkabout in Tampines West yesterday. NSP has contested in Tampines in every election except one, since 1988.PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI FOR THE STRAITS TIMESThe National Solidarity Party (NSP) was at its old stomping ground of Tampines yesterday, where it has contested in every election - bar one - since the constituency was formed in 1988.Twenty party members and volunteers turned up for the three-hour walkabout in Tampines West - among them two who are in their 20s: Ms Kevryn Lim, 26, a project director at events management and digital marketing firm EM.DM; and Mr Jan Chan, 25, a final-year student reading mathematics and computer science at the National University of Singapore.Party leaders declined comment on potential candidates for the next hustings, but NSP's star catch at the 2011 election, Ms Nicole Seah, was also in her 20s when she was fielded in Marine Parade GRC. She has left the party.readmore
4-Corner Fight in Tampines? NSP Caught Between SingFirst and a Hard Place

The National Solidarity Party held its walkabout in Tampines St 81 earlier today – which coincided with another walkabout by the Singaporeans First Party.Singfirst, which was formed last year, is helmed by familiar faces such as Tan Jee Say and Dr Ang Yong Guan.Both men had contested under the SDP banner in General Election 2011, with Mr Tan going on to challenge for the Singapore presidency.readmore
WP Eyes Marine Parade GRC and MacPherson SMC: Three-Corner Fights On the Cards?

The Workers’ Party says it will mount a challenge for Marine Parade GRC and MacPherson SMC
This was announed by WP Secretary-General Low Thia Kiang during a walkabout in Punggol East today (26 Jul).“As a matter of principle, The Workers’ Party will contest where we have contested before. In this case, Joo Chiat is being redrawn into Marine Parade. We don’t want to disappoint voters in Joo Chiat. We want to offer them a choice again in this election.”Joo Chiat SMC, where the WP’s Yee Jenn Jong contested in General Election 2011, has been absorbed into Marine Parade GRC.readmoreSDP eyes Bukit Batok, Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC

SDP secretary-general Chee Soon Juan (centre) leading party members and activists on a walkabout in Bukit Batok yesterday. The party is also contesting areas where it stood in the 2011 General Election.PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAOThe Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) plans to contest the Bukit Batok single seat and is looking at fielding "a very good candidate" there, its secretary-general Chee Soon Juan said yesterday.The SDP is also eyeing the newly formed Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC, in addition to contesting in areas it stood in during the 2011 General Election: Bukit Panjang SMC, Yuhua SMC, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Sembawang GRC."In a way, we are coming home," he told reporters after a walkabout in Bukit Batok Single Member Constituency, carved out of Jurong GRC by the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee, whose report was released on Friday.readmore
The Ones to Remove the Rats? SDP Declares Intent to Challenge Bukit Batok SMC

The SDP is holding a walkabout at Bukit Batok this morning (26 Jul), in a bid to support for the coming General Election.The SMC was recently carved out of Jurong GRC – which was contested by the National Solidarity Party in GE2011.But will the coming GE prove to be third time lucky doe the Democrats, who lost twice in battles with the PAP over the constituency?readmore
Mountbatten SMC: Jeannette’s for the Taking?

Jeannette Chong-Aruldoss has been pounding the beat in Mountbatten SMC, and with the constituency retaining its SMC status, she won’t be suffering the unfortunate fate of the Workers’ Party’s Yee Jenn Jong in Joo Chiat.Ms Chong-Aruldoss contested in Mountbatten SMC in General Election 2011, losing to the PAP’s Lim Biow Chuan with 41 percent of the vote.This time, she the former National Solidarity Party Secretary-General will be contesting under the banner of the Singapore People’s Party.readmoreThe Workers’ Party will contest 28 seats in total: 5 GRCs & 5 SMCs

Wednesday, 29 July 2015

A man floats in the infinity pool on the 57th floor of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, overlooking Singapore’s financial districtThe Southeast Asian city-state’s model worked for 50 years. What comes now?Clouds bruised the Singapore sky on Aug. 9, 1965, as Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew confirmed that the tiny island at the tip of peninsular Southeast Asia was becoming independent. There were few notes of celebration. Singapore had been cast off, expelled from Malaysia, itself a new nation.Lee, who would continue to dominate Singaporean politics for decades, wept in what he called his “moment of anguish” at the creation of a nation that never aspired to nationhood.readmoreExclusive: Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Speaks Candidly with TIME

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong addresses the nation about the passing of his father, Singapore's founder Lee Kuan Yew, during a live broadcast on Monday, March 23, 2015, in SingaporeOn Aug. 9, 1965, Singapore became an independent state. A half-century of unparalleled prosperity later, this Asian trading hub faces very different challenges.As Singapore gears up to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its independence, the city-state once dismissed as a “little red dot” at the midpoint of regional maps now serves as the epicenter of Asian-style development. By combining Confucian values with state-sponsored capitalism, Singapore in little more than a generation moved “from third world to first,” as a memoir of founding father Lee Kuan Yew puts it.In truth, Singapore — a mix of majority Chinese and smaller Malay and Indian communities — wasn’t quite as backward upon independence as its boosters claim. The city-state’s economic development was unmatched by individual political liberties. The nanny state admirablyread moreBetter chance of non-Chinese PM with younger generation: PM Lee

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was asked by TIME magazine whether a non-Chinese could be the country's PM, and whether Singapore's development experience could be emulated by others.Here are edited extracts of the exchange

TIME: You talked about the diversity of Singapore; of course, as you have said, it is a majority ethnic Chinese society. Can you see a future in which a non-Chinese could be Prime Minister?

PM Lee: It could be, it depends on the person. You must have the right person - you must have the politics worked out, you must be able to connect both with the Chinese as well as the non-Chinese population. With the new generation, I think chances are better. Even today, if you go to the constituencies, most of the time, you would be speaking some Chinese. In your markets, certainly, with the old folks, certainly. Even with the younger ones, a significant proportion of them would be more comfortable speaking in Mandarin because that's their home conversational language.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at a forum earlier this week. Singapore needs to get its economy to the next level as other Asian countries snap at its heels. "If we don't, then we will have malaise and the angst, and even disillusionment, which you see in many developed countries," he said in an interview with Time magazine.ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIMAlthough founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's influence on Singapore runs deep, he made sure he prepared the country to move on and not "be stuck in the Lee Kuan Yew mode" of governance, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.There was a tremendous outpouring of grief when Mr Lee died in March this year, but confidence in Singapore was not shaken.On the contrary, it was strengthened, PM Lee noted in an interview with Time magazine, a transcript of which was released to Singapore media yesterday.read moreThree biggest challenges Singapore will face up to SG100: Lee Hsien LoongEnhancing the economy, the ageing population and maintaining a national identity are the three biggest challenges that Singapore faces over the next half-century, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said.The immediate challenge over the next decade is getting the economy to the next level, he said in an interview published by Time magazine on Thursday (Jul 23)."We are looking for a path which no country has yet found and we are not even an economy like the Japanese or Germans, or never mind the big power economy. So to get to the next level is a big challenge, if we don't get to the next level then we will have malaise and the angst, and even disillusionment which you see in many developed countries," he said.readmoreSingapore must balance immigration policies and birthrate: PM LeeSingapore: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned that Singapore, with over 1.3 million foreign workers, may end up in a "tight spot" like Japan if it fails to strike the right balance between birthrate and immigration policies.As of now Singapore's demographics may not have become a major issue -- but it will be in a generation's time, on a 25-year timeframe.The immediate challenge over the next decade is getting the economy to the next level, Lee said in an interview published today by Time magazine.

"We are looking for a path which no country has yet found and we are not even an economy like the Japanese or Germans, or never mind the big power economy.

"So to get to the next level is a big challenge, if we don't get to the next level then we will have malaise and the angst, and even disillusion- ment which you see in many developed countries," he said.

read moreS’pore has only 25-year window to get demographic balance right, PM warns

The Republic has a 25-year window to raise birth rates and maintain a balance between the proportion of foreigners and Singaporeans. Otherwise, it could be in a “very tight spot” like Japan, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong warned in a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine, which was conducted on July 10 and published today (July 23).Reiterating the size of the demographic and existential challenges for Singapore in the medium and long term, Mr Lee also flagged the dangers of a brain drain and schisms within the population.“In 25 years, if we can’t get our demography balance between our births and immigration of foreign workers, we will be in a very tight spot like the Japanese are,” he said. readmorePM LEE NOW SAYS THAT SINGAPORE NEEDS A "STRONG SINGAPOREAN CORE"

In an interview with Time Magazine released on Thursday, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong gave his views on a variety of topics, including the need to balance the population of more than 1.3 million foreign workers, which make up a quarter of Singapore’s population, while forging a national identity with a Singaporean "core".According to Lee: “If you don’t have that Singapore core, you can top up the numbers, but you are no longer Singapore. It doesn’t feel Singapore, it isn’t Singapore and we can issue everybody red passports, but where is the continuity?”He says the Government has taken steps to slow the intake of foreigners in recent years, but faced with a rapidly ageing population, “the solution we have to be able to work, is to have enough of our own children for the next generation.”readmoreIf more S’poreans leave, country will be ‘depleted’, ‘shrunken': PM Lee

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has once again raised a perennial problem faced by Singapore – those who have chosen to leave the country for good.In an interview with TIME magazine which was published on Thursday, Mr Lee said:

In 2008, Mr Lee’s father, then Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, had raised the same concerns.

The late elder Lee revealed in an interview with United Press International then that Singapore was facing a ‘pretty serious’ brain drain problem.read moreThe (re)birth of a nation?I remember Sunday, 29 March, 2015 very well. That’s because I stood in the rain for almost three hours at Commonwealth MRT station, waiting to catch some footage of the late Lee Kuan Yew’s funeral cortege.As the hours passed and the showers turned into a deluge, the crowd around me, both young and old, steadily built up. Packed against the barricades, dozens of pairs of eyes were glued to smartphones to monitor the progress of the cortege. Some offered the shelter of their umbrellas to strangers.And though many of us got drenched, and Singaporeans are champion grumblers, I didn’t hear a single word of complaint. Everyone simply wanted to catch one last glimpse of the man.readmoreLee Hsien Loong: I am very sad the Workers’ Party only know how to criticise snidely

Photo of Lee Hsien Loong from Yahoo Singapore

In today’s (July 23) release of the transcript of his interview with US-based TIME Magazine, PM Lee Hsien Loong said that he “welcome” criticisms especially when they are raised in Parliament. However, he is very sad that the Opposition Workers’ Party’s criticism “comes snidely and round the corner”: